Right to Part-Time: Practical Implications from the Managerial Point of View**, The

Management Revue, 2007 by Kattenbach, Ralph

In 2001 the employee's right to reduce working-time according to their own preferences was implemented in Germany. This legal title hardly effects the slowly but steadily growing number of part-time jobs. Nevertheless, data from the socioeconomic panel suggest that about 25% of employees wish to reduce their working-time even if this is associated with a loss of income. The HR-manager is seen as a mediator and is expected to play a major role moderating the effect of the legislative implementation. Therefore the HR managers' concepts and attitudes towards part-time as well as the psychological contract are the subject of the presented study. 42 HR-managers have been interviewed. The data are analysed according to qualitative content analysis. In common use the right to reduce one's working-time is rather seen as a matter of negotiation than an obligation to comply. Indeed, the majority of the HR-managers express their goodwill but the acceptance of the part-time requests is dependent on general beliefs, work ethic, and role concepts. Regarding the right to part-time, these are indicators for a weak direct impact of labour law on the managerial reality.

Key words: Part-time, Reduced Working Hours, Psychological Contract, Human Resources, Work Ethic

Introduction

Part-time work is an increasingly used form of employment relationship. In Germany the steadily growing part-time rate has risen to 25.8% of total employment. Therewith Germany ranks behind the Netherlands as second in Europe in this regard (source: Eurostat 2007). Earlier, it was up to only the employer to decide whether forms of part-time work were used or not, but with the implementation of the EU directive 97/81 into national law, the power of decision has been shifted fundamentally. The directive aims to promote employee-oriented part-time work regarding the employers' needs and to prevent discrimination of part-timers. Complying with this directive, the so called "Teilzeit- und Befristungsgesetz" became operative in Germany in 2001. By virtue of this law employees have a right to part-time1. What is remarkable about this title is that it not only aims to protect employees (as working time regulations or the protection against dismissal do), but it also defines a strong claim to adapt one's working-times to the individual needs. The presented study is driven by the question of which consequences this legal title might have for the employer-employee relationship.

The implementation of the law was accompanied by heavy protests and employers' representatives were buzzing with excitement since they worried that staff members would call for a working-time reduction in masses. And indeed, 28% of the German full-time employees (17% female and 11% male) would like to reduce workingtime accepting the associated loss of income (Holst/Schupp 2002). These results are congruent with a European trend. According to an international comparative study conducted in 16 EU member states, employees want to reduce working-time by average of 4.5 hours a week. In contrast, many part-timers - especially those with small part-time jobs - want to extend working-time in order to earn sufficient money. This reveals the common use of part-time as an employer-oriented model for an increased managerial flexibility. According to the Federal Employment Office, the percentage of marginal part-time jobs - the so called mini-jobs and midi-jobs - with maximum wages of 400,- and 800,- Euros respectively is about 50% of the total part-time work (cp. Wanger 2004). The favourite model is the so called big part-time with around 25 to 34 hours a week (Bielenski et al. 2002).

The success of the law is evaluated differently by two studies (Magvas/Spitznagel 2002; DIHK 2001) but both agree that the numerical effect in form of part-time requests is only a little one. This is probably why,the dust has quickly settled, since implementation and the right to part-time is no longer a matter of discussion . Although the overall growing rate of part-time jobs is not affected, there is a growth in part-time requests. The IAB - the national Institute for Employment Research - states that in 2003, 120.000 requests for part-time were turned in versus 84.000 in 2001 (Wanger 2004). However, there is a gap between the wide spread wish to reduce one's workingtime in exchange for lower wages and the comparably low amount of requests. Therefore, one can assume that staff members who want to reduce working-time are not expecting to reach an agreement with the employer because of the anticipated negative result or consequences and do not even ask for it (Wanger 2004). The present study seeks to explain the (absence of) effects of the right to part-time on managerial level as managers are seen as organisational decision makers mediating the effects of labour law and broader policies according to their attitudes and beliefs as shown below. It deals with the question of how the right is implemented in businesses and what influence the decision makers' beliefs have on the handling of thereof.